Showing posts with label catch the excitement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label catch the excitement. Show all posts

Sunday, May 13, 2012

I, Crimsonstreak Arrival!


There is a terrific moment at the end of Back to the Future in which George McFly--the loser who finally grew a spine thanks to the intrepidity of his time-traveling son--tears into a box full of books, a presumed science fictional romance called A Match Made in Space. The book is the culmination of years of work by George and, consequently, owes its existence to a budding incestuous relationship involving his wife and his son from 1955.

I, Crimsonstreak worked exactly like that, except for the time traveling and the whole creepy romance. The hardcover edition of the book has arrived at my house, and as is tradition on this blog, I'm taking pictures. Here ya go.

The hardcover edition of I, Crimsonstreak and book plates await the author's signature.

A look at the front cover.

A look inside the front jacket flap.

The thrilling title page.

And...the back jacket flap. That's my stunt double.

The back cover of the book. The picture there, coincidentally, was originally the concept for the front cover, but we changed directions.

Some who pre-ordered the book will get shirts. We plan to open a store in case anyone wants to buy one of their own.

The mighty superheroic rubber ducky and the complete set of Crimsonstreak-inspired buttons.

An alternate cover concept sees new life as a button.

Our hero, everyone. On a button.

The Crusading Comet logo in a brandy snifter. Any SNL fans out there?

A button featuring the logo of the evil New World Common Wealth.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Writing Tools of the Trade

The Notebook: When I write, it's usually on my computer, although sometimes I scribble in a notebook. That's for the actual writing of a project, however. Conceptualization and outlines always start in a notebook. I have different ones depending on my mood. There's a notebook from high school with some ideas in it that I still kick around. A newer notebook includes more recent ideas for both novels and short stories along with blogging and promotion ideas.


The Computer: I've been a PC fan for a long time, and my computer is as barebones as they come, a dual-core Compaq Presario with Windows 7. I write using Microsoft Word, although one of these days I'm very tempted to try out Scrivener. Word gets the job done; it's not flashy, but it's pretty standard and it has a familiar feel. Oddly, working with Word gets me into my "writing mindspace."


The Kindle: This wasn't a part of my repertoire until last summer, but the Kindle has become an absolutely essential tool in my writing utility belt. I don't mind sitting in front of the computer to write; I, however, loathe sitting in front of the computer to read. Hate it, absolutely hate it. The Kindle bridges the gap; I can email documents to the Kindle and read through manuscripts outside or while lying on the couch. I use the Kindle keyboard, which is handy for making notes about misspellings, wrong words, character inconsistencies, and other things I spot during a read-through.

The Caffeine: I am not a coffee drinker. I've never liked the taste and I've never worked a typical day job shift that made it part of my daily routine. When I need a jolt, I rely, sadly, on soda. I don't really care what kind I drink. I tend to be more of a cola/cherry cola guy (I lean toward Coke), although I also like Dr Pepper. Mountain Dew and its various derivatives are fairly low on the list.